


this is it, can you hear me?

by worth_the_risk



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Pre-Canon, Circa 2007, Lil Bitty Having Crushes Pre-Samwell, M/M, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-30
Updated: 2017-01-30
Packaged: 2018-09-20 23:42:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 732
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9521240
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/worth_the_risk/pseuds/worth_the_risk
Summary: Eric knew dark eyes. Dark eyes were home, dark eyes were safe. Guarded.Simon’s eyes were the opposite of that.





	

Eric knew dark eyes. His momma’s eyes were like fudge right before it sets, warm and homey. His father’s were the same brown as the clay in their garden after it rained, rich and strong. Moomaw had knit him a sweater in the same impossibly deep green as her eyes for his fourth Christmas. Dark eyes were home, dark eyes were safe. Guarded.

Simon’s eyes were the opposite of that. They were icy green and blue and flecked with honey. Every time Eric sat next to him while they tied their skates and their eyes met, his heart rate kicked up a storm.

Simon liked to skate to Blink 182. A pair of Simon’s practice skates had little logo stickers for his favorite bands on them. Eric didn’t understand putting stickers on your skates, but he put a quarter note charm inside the lattice of his laces one day, hoping that Simon would notice.

He did. “Hey,” he pointed at Eric’s boot with his chin while he yanked on his laces. “I like the charm. You listen to a lot of music?”

Eric nodded, composing himself for a moment. “Do you ever listen to Beyoncé?”

“She’s the one you always perform to, right?” Simon smiled without looking up, moving to tighten the laces on his other boot. “I looked her up after our last show. She’s got a great voice, and I like that she actually works on writing and producing most of her stuff. A lot of pop artists buy all their songs off songwriters.” He frowned up at Eric, an apology without words. “Not my favorite kind of music, though.”

“I tried listening to them,” Eric said, pointing with his pinky at the bright blue and pink sticker near the toe of Simon’s left boot while he finished tightening his own laces. “Not my favorite kind of music, either.”

Nodding, Simon patted Eric’s knee. He stood up and leaned forward into a stretch, rocking slowly from left to right on his blades. “Try listening to Angels & Airwaves? Start with I-Empire, I think you’ll like them better than Blink.”

Eric smiled and nodded and a matching grin crept across Simon’s face, his bright eyes sparking. “Sure.” He stood up and bent his knees, testing the tension of his laces, and the two of them set off toward the ice to warm up.

The air in the rink was colder than it usually was, and it stung Eric’s cheeks. He tugged his gloves higher on his wrists and hurried towards the gate to the rink. Katie, the older girl who was training for seniors with Katya, was already looping groggy figure eights around the ice.

“Wait a second.” Simon wrapped his hand around Eric’s arm and pulled an iPod out of his pocket. “Let’s trade, I’ve got that album on here.” He unplugged his headphones and handed the little green mp3 player over. “What should I listen to?”

“I’ve got some Fall Out Boy on there?” Eric shrugged while he tugged his own iPod out of the sleeve on his arm and opened the album menu before handing it over. “It’s mostly Beyoncé and more stuff like hers.”

“Well, you’re going to try again with my music. I’ll try again with yours.” He smiled, his dimples showing, and showed Eric the screen as he clicked Eric's favorite warm up playlist.

Eric took a deep breath, trying his very best to not grin like a lovestruck fool at the other boy. He tugged off his glove and opened the menu on his friend’s iPod, scrolling through and selecting the album he'd been recommended.

Simon ran out onto the ice like he always did, slipping Eric’s iPod into his pocket and tucking his headphones under the dark mop of his hair as he went.

Eric nestled his own earbuds into place and hit play, waiting for the slow build on the first song to hit him before he set his skates on the ice. Simon skated by and gave him a thumbs up, dancing while he passed, holding Eric’s gaze.

Eric knew dark eyes to be cinnamon and nutmeg, just-right chocolate pie crust, grass under the just-twilight sky in the bottom of summer. He knew dark eyes, but Eric loved the blue of the ice too well to not notice when it looked back at him the same way he was looking at it.

**Author's Note:**

> title from "call to arms" by angels & airwaves.


End file.
